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Articles by Bimmer Maven
CNC machining at home: What you need to get started
[Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the May 2022 issue of Grassroots Motorsports. Some information and prices may have changed.] Our series on helping every fabricator build better parts started with the basics: How to draw those parts, design them with a computer, and instruct a sub-$200 3D printer to bring them to life from plastic. Now it’s time to start cutting metal. What should a frustrated CAD modeler buy after they’re bored with the 3D printer?
Which floor treatment is right for your shop?
[Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the June 2009 issue of Grassroots Motorsports.] Story by Tom Heath Talk about the bedrock of human society: Concrete is the material behind such significant architectural benchmarks as the Roman Colosseum, the Hoover Dam and Alcatraz. This simple blend of sand, gravel and cement has been with us since at least 5600 B.C., with a few ingredients mixed in along the way for added strength and durability.
Why a more modern gear-reduction starter makes a wise upgrade
In most cases, there is nothing inherently wrong with the starters that came on our classics. Like a noble workhorse, they step up and do their jobs over and over again. The problem is that many of these units have been doing that job for 40 or 50 years. Just like that workhorse, these starters need to be put out to pasture sooner or later. While we view some conversions with skepticism, modern gear-reduction starters are one upgrade we can get behind.
Two rare Marcos GT Coupes thriving on Florida’s Gulf Coast
[Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the May 2016 issue of Classic Motorsports.] The guys in the battered Ford F-150 pickup were rolling along Route 19 on Florida’s west coast, minding their own business, when a white Marcos coupe flashed by. Trying to get a better look, they nearly sprained their necks. And before they could recover, they spotted a blue coupe close behind. Maybe they thought they were seeing double. And why not?
Driving the Volvo P1800 reimagined by Cyan Racing
Photography by Daniel Ahlgren and Joel Carlsson [Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the November 2021 issue of Classic Motorsports.] The first clue is in the soundtrack. This doesn’t sound like a Volvo P1800. First, there’s the deep whoosh of the turbo, like a vacuum cleaner gone rogue. Next, you hear the engine, ferociously screaming as the wheels fail to contain 420 horsepower. This bright blue dot is a racer’s homage to the most iconic car Sweden ever produced, the Volvo P1800.
BMW Z3 and M roadster: Buy one now? | Buyer's Guide
[Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the November 2022 issue of Classic Motorsports.] Want a two-seat roadster from a beloved brand that’s a tick outside the norm? Why not a BMW Z3? It’s fun, it’s sporty, and nearly any BMW shop can maintain it. Performance can be fierce, and in Q Branch trim it was cool enough for James Bond. Another attractive point: The Z3 line represents one of today’s value buys, with drivers costing less than $10,000.
The truth about daily driving a classic car
Photography by David S. Wallens [Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the May 2008 issue of Classic Motorsports.] Let’s say that you have decided to make a piece of classic machinery your usual ride—rain or shine, hot or cold, in sickness or in health. Overall, it’s a simple proposition. Back when they were new, most classics were intended to be used as daily transportation on one level or another. There’s no reason why that can’t be done today.
A cooling system is only as good as its weakest link
Photography by Carl Heideman [Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the November 2008 issue of Classic Motorsports.] We’ve all been there, blissfully cruising along in our classics only to come to a halt thanks to a steaming, hissing radiator. Once the car stops rolling, the next step is usually to pop the hood and blame something beneath it. In reality, the blame lies with us owners.
6 driving fundamentals I wish I could explain to a younger me
• The car is always better than you. Let it do the hard work. Fast laps aren’t so much about forcing things to happen as they are about operating as close to the ultimate potential of the machinery as possible. Trying to exceed the car’s innate ability is just going to slow it down and tire you out. • Don’t work so hard. As a follow-up to the previous tip, the lightest possible touch is always the best. You want to do the least amount of work possible to achieve your goal.
Running on Old Tires vs. New Tires
[Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the July 2019 issue of Classic Motorsports.] Think those old tires are still safe enough? They sport plenty of tread, so they must be good, right? Perhaps you should reconsider. We performed this test a while ago, and the results bear repeating: Old tires do not perform nearly as well as fresh ones. For this test, we compared old rubber with new. The first was a set of NOS Michelin X tires that had been bagged and sealed for 33 years.
How to set up your track car? The pros at BimmerWorld tell us how.
I really want the car to be ready to hit the track when it leaves the shop. So if it’s a new chassis, we do the development work to determine our alignment specs: toe curves, camber curves, etc. We also have defined spring rates, and thus wheel rates, that put us in the box we like to work in. Shock choice is core. [How To Calculate Spring Rate–and How to Understand Cutting Coils | Handling Basics] This way we can have the right baseline parts on the car and base static alignment settings.
E28-chassis BMW M5: What you need to know before you buy
Today’s market is littered with high-output sedans produced by nearly every manufacturer, from Hyundai and Lexus to the usual suspects from Germany and America. Go back to the late ‘80s, though, and there was one standout: the original BMW M5. The M5 was big news for BMW, too. Remember, at the time the manufacturer was pulling out of a rut dominated by its low-revving, fuel-saving Eta engines.
How to make track time both safe and fun
Statistically the race track is a safer place than public roads, so the trips to and from the track are the most dangerous. Drivers encountered on the way to the track are no more aware of their surroundings than those encountered any other time, so stay alert. Also, pay attention when leaving the track, since spending time driving at triple digits can warp your perception of speed.
BMW M1, the radical entrance of the M Division
Photography Credit: Zachary Todd The ’70s were all about the wedge. It was the shape to have, whether it was haircuts, shoes or sleek, low-cut supercars that could cleave right through the air with minimal effort. Italian design houses Bertone, Giugiaro and Pininfarina took that idea to the extreme, while exotic car builders like Lotus, Ferrari and Lamborghini turned some of those dreams into showroom stars. Owning one of these cars today usually involves some sort of reality check, though.
BMW M Coupe: Buy one now? | Buyer's Guide
[Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the November 2017 issue of Classic Motorsports.] “It kind of looks like a clown shoe.” “Yeah, that’s where it gets its nickname.” Meet the BMW M Coupe. It’s more than a hardtop version of the M Roadster, which is itself a pumped-up Z3. The M Coupe follows a long line of three-door speciality BMW coupes built out of more common two-door models.
A 14-Step Guide To Surviving Overhead Camshaft Headwork
It’s going to happen sooner or later. Something in your engine will break, wear out or require an upgrade, forcing you to—gulp—pull a cylinder head. This job can be quite overwhelming and complex, especially if you’re working with an overhead-cam engine, but it’s much less intimidating when you break it down into steps. One of the cars in our fleet, a 1988 Alfa Romeo Graduate, recently needed some headwork.
Painting a car at home part 3: Spraying the topcoats
Since you never miss an issue of GRM, we know you’ve already read the previous two installments of our “Paint at Home” series. If not, here is part 1, and here is part 2. The first showed us stripping our BMW’s paint and fixing its imperfections with hammers and body filler. The second covered the iterative process … This content is available for GRM+ members and Grassroots Motorsports magazine subscribers only. You can read it for free in 61 days or subscribe to GRM+ to read right now.
914 vs. 914-6: Which former Porsche pariah is the better buy?
Photography by Tim and Tom Suddard [Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the November 2018 issue of Classic Motorsports.] Have you looked at Porsche 914 prices lately? They’ve been ticking upward, and the 911-powered 914-6 is leading the charge. The model, much maligned and largely forgotten for decades, is now coming into its own. But is the six-cylinder car really worth the price premium over the standard-issue, four-cylinder 914?
Drill accurate holes with a simple divider tool | From the Archives
By Carl Heideman Feb 8, 2026 | Tech Tips, drilling | Posted in Shop Work | From the Dec. 2016 issue | Never miss an article Photography by Carl Heideman A custom bracket with mis-drilled holes is pretty much worthless. Want to save yourself a lot of time and aggravation? We have found that a common set of dividers–a simple tool that usually costs less than $15–can be a real time-saver, accurately locating holes while minimizing the need to take measurements.
Miata power makes this Porsche 914 extra special
In reply to mistanfo : I've raced a stock Hayabusa powered SCCA C sports racer / P2 sports racer since 2012, and the engines are as reliable as anvils. I'm still using wet sump lubrication, and motors look new, and have perfect compression and leakdown after 2 full seasons. I imagine in a track day environment where you're leaving a few percent on the table they'd go a long, long time, and if you manage to pop one, (checks his watch)... some kid just totaled their 'Busa just now.
25 tips to better enjoy motorsports
Wrenching Buy a Good Timing Light Things move pretty quickly inside an engine, and you need to ignite the air/fuel mixture at just the right time. Each degree of ignition plays a critical part in the equation, and a timing light is going to help you properly tune your engine. Our advice: Splurge on one of the more advanced models so you can check your ignition timing at different rpm points. Who cares if your timing is great at idle but totally off at 6000 rpm?
How to easily diagnose common automotive electrical problems
There are several golden rules for solving problems with automotive electrical systems. Corrosion is the biggest reason for failure. Wires do not fail. Grounds, connections, and individual components fail regularly. And in most cases, it is far better to repair a faulty factory circuit than to rewire it. Corrosion is electricity’s biggest enemy. Battery terminals, fuse blocks, sensors, switches, connectors, and grounds are likely to fail because they are corroded.
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